How the FBI Could Have Prevented Dr. Tiller's Death
His alleged killer was seen vandalizing the clinic both the week before and the day before the murder but officials failed to enforce existing laws.
Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate, in AlterNet
Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Ken Mitchell
George Tiller did not have to die. He was assassinated while in church in Wichita, Kan., on Sunday, targeted for legally performing abortions. His death might have been prevented simply through enforcement of existing laws. His alleged killer was seen vandalizing a Kansas City clinic, Aid for Women, both the week before and the day before the murder, putting glue into its door locks. The manager of that clinic, who calls himself "Jeff Pederson" to protect his identity, told me he called the FBI and local police both times, but the vandal, the alleged killer Scott Roeder, was not arrested. Pederson had Roeder's first name and his license-plate number. He had images of him on the security video. He recognized him from previous protests.
Pederson said: "The clinic was closed on Memorial Day weekend. A worker tried to get in on Memorial Day but couldn't. The locks were Super-Glued. I went to the videotape and I saw the same guy on the videotape who had done it in 2000." Pederson called his contact at the FBI, agent Mark Colburn. "He [Colburn] said the videotape wouldn't be clear enough, and since I had touched the locks, I had ruined it with my DNA. So I bought new color video cameras."
Related:
Terrorism works: Tiller clinic closes, Salon.com
Intimidation, harassment, threats and violence are the name of the game, and without a resolve on the part of the government and law enforcement to show that domestic terrorism doesn't work, it'll keep working.
